Open Throat

"Open Throat is what fiction should be." --The New York Times Book Review

One of Elle's Best Summer Books of 2023, and one of i-D's Fiction to be Excited for in 2023. Named a Most Anticipated Book by The New York Times, Vanity Fair, BuzzFeed, The Boston Globe, Nylon, Alta, Shondaland, Chicago Review of Books, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Literary Hub.

A lonely, lovable, queer mountain lion narrates this star-making fever dream of a novel.

A queer and dangerously hungry mountain lion lives in the drought-devastated land under the Hollywood sign. Lonely and fascinated by humanity's foibles, the lion spends their days protecting a nearby homeless encampment, observing hikers complain about their trauma, and, in quiet moments, grappling with the complexities of their gender identity, memories of a vicious father, and the indignities of sentience.

When a man-made fire engulfs the encampment, the lion is forced from the hills down into the city the hikers call "ellay." As the lion confronts a carousel of temptations and threats, they take us on a tour that spans the cruel inequalities of Los Angeles and the toll of climate grief. But even when salvation finally seems within reach, they are forced to face down the ultimate question: Do they want to eat a person, or become one?

Henry Hoke's Open Throat is a marvel of storytelling, a universal journey through a wondrous and menacing world recounted by a lovable mountain lion. Feral and vulnerable, profound and playful, Open Throat is a star-making novel that brings the mythic to life.

Publisher: MCD
Published: 06/06/2023
Pages: 176
Weight: 0.5lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780374609870


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 03/01/2023 pg. 26
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 04/03/2023

About the Author
Henry Hoke is an editor at The Offing and a writer whose work has appeared in No Tokens, Triangle House Review, Electric Literature, and the flash noir anthology Tiny Crimes. He co-created the performance series Enter>text in Los Angeles, and has taught at CalArts and the UVA Young Writers Workshop. He lives in New York Ci